Items of jewellery are often mass-produced to a particular design as chosen by the jewellery manufacturer in question. However, these mass-produced items are not unique, and the designs used for these items may not be to everyone's taste. As an alternative to mass-production, one-off items of jewellery may be commissioned, or else may be hand-made, by individuals wanting something unique. However, commissioned items can be expensive to buy and hand-made items can be difficult for non-skilled individuals to assemble. Furthermore, jewellery items are often produced by temporarily melting or softening metallic or plastic materials, but this can be a messy and time-consuming process, and the resultant jewellery items cannot easily be altered once they have been assembled.